Trouble signs for GOP in latest poll on Congress

President Obama is not the only one to feel the sting of increasing anger and frustration with Washington in the aftermath of the contested debt-ceiling deal, a new AP-GfK poll suggests.

The poll finds that Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) is increasingly unpopular and that the Tea Party has lost support.

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Only 12 percent approve of the way Congress has been handling its job, matching a historic low in the poll.

But the poll shows signs that Americans are increasingly blaming Republicans for congressional gridlock. While 68 percent disapprove of congressional Democrats, 75 percent disapprove of congressional Republicans. And 50 percent of the country strongly disapproves of Republicans in Congress, up from just 39 percent in June.

Only 29 percent of those polled have a favorable view of Boehner; the Republican leader won just a fifth of independent support.

Among the most troubling signs in the poll for congressional Republicans was the sentiment that voters were holding their own congressmen accountable, rather than just the Congress as a whole.

Traditionally, pollsters find that while Congresses might suffer bouts of unpopularity, most people continue to support their own representatives. But the AP-GfK poll showed that only 38 percent want to see their member of Congress reelected — a tough sentiment for House Republicans who are defending their majority in that chamber.

The Republican strategy of holding the line on tax increases might prove a tough sell, as well. Sixty-nine percent of those polled believed that some taxes will have to be increased for the government to balance the budget. That being said, more than half believe lawmakers' main focus should be on cutting government services.

Voters are less enamored with the insurgent Tea Party that swept Republicans into control of the House in 2010. Only 28 percent of those polled had a favorable view of the movement.